Verbal image in linguistic culture: Stages of formation

The article considers the phenomenon of verbal image in today’s multicultural society. Saturation of the individual living space with information explains the active demand for reduction concepts such as images, templates, etc. Studying the image as an identification code of an individual is a relevant issuenot only in the context of social interaction, but also regarding linguopragmatic aspects of its modeling. This study aims at theoretical understanding of the verbal component of the image. This component is defined as a super-text unity, designed to form an established opinion about a person of the collective addressee. The main goal of the article is to identify the formation stages of the verbal image regarding the linguistic features of a person, linguistic and cultural settings, and expectations of the audience. In this research we used the following basic methods: descriptive (involving review, systematization and interpretation of scientific works on the issue);explanatory (in particular, a method of linguistic and cultural commentary);the method of theoretical modeling (development of certain techniques within the stated problematics). The main conclusion of the study is that the image is a set of components, with the verbal one as the most important among these. Its main function is externalization of internal resources of an individual and the creation of "a communicative bridge" between the image of a person, and his audience. The article proposes the demonstrative technique of the verbal image formation, which may vary depending on the intentions of the image-person (the addressant). This method involves such actions as goal setting, diagnostics of the linguo-prototype and its transformation in the verbal image, as well as the analysis linguocultural context. This study presents an attempt to outline the range of important issues in this area. © 2016 Zhumadullaevaet al.